


then again

by maddielle



Series: that big picture 'verse [6]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Angst, Anxiety, Declarations Of Love, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Future Fic, M/M, Stiles Stilinski Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-24 23:07:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22466131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maddielle/pseuds/maddielle
Summary: Stiles turned his head and seemed to notice Derek for the first time, both hands coming up to clutch Derek’s where it still lay on his chest.“What… Why-?”“You were dreaming,” Derek said, watching his boyfriend’s expression carefully. “It didn’t seem like a good one.”Stiles finds it harder to settle into his new life than he expected. Derek helps.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: that big picture 'verse [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1614649
Comments: 3
Kudos: 213





	then again

**Author's Note:**

> inspired a bit by the nogitsune story line (which didn't actually happen in this universe)
> 
> set before _full circle_ , a few months after stiles graduates uni

Derek wasn’t generally a light sleeper.

He used to be, back when a new threat to his and the pack’s safety had cropped up without fail every other week, and he hadn’t had a stable four walls to really call his own. Things were different now. The new house had been finished for over three years, and Derek had grown accustomed to the innate feeling of peace it allowed him to bask in. As of a week ago, he even had his mate with him under his own roof. Many of Stiles’ boxes still littered the main hall downstairs and the master bedroom, but it already felt to Derek as if they’d never lived apart in the first place.

Given his recent feelings of general contentment, he was then momentarily confused as to what had roused him. A quick glance to the alarm clock on his bedside table told him the hour: just past three-thirty in the morning.

“Mm… No.”

He turned his head at the soft mutterings of his bedmate. Stiles was clearly still dead to the world, eyes shut, fingers twisted in the duvet, but Derek’s keen eyesight picked up the light sheen of sweat on his forehead. His heartbeat was faint but too quick, stuttering along like he’d been sprinting.

He made another noise of protest in his sleep, brow furrowed.

“No. I don’t… I don’t…”

Derek remained still for a long moment, watching, hoping the dream would fade on its own, until Stiles rolled his head to the side and he caught the glisten of tears wetting the younger man’s eyelashes. He then pushed up onto an elbow, let his hand rest heavy on Stiles’ chest.

“Stiles,” he said, firmly.

“I can’t… Stop. _No-_ ”

“Stiles, wake up. You’re okay.”

_“Please-”_

Derek jostled him lightly and said, louder, “Stiles!”

Stiles eyes immediately flew open, his mouth parted as he sucked in air with an audible gasp. He blinked rapidly, gaze flitting about the room without focus.

“Stiles,” Derek said again, more gently. “Hey.”

It took a long moment before Stiles finally blinked one last time, awareness creeping back into his face. He turned his head and seemed to notice the other man for the first time, both hands coming up to clutch Derek’s where it still lay on his heaving chest.

“What… Why-?”

“You were dreaming,” Derek said, watching his boyfriend’s expression carefully. “It didn’t seem like a good one.”

“It wasn’t,” Stiles muttered, closing his eyes again.

“Can you tell me about it?”

Stiles chewed on his lip, before sitting up and pushing back the covers. “Not really,” he said, standing. “You go back to sleep. I’ll be downstairs for a bit.”

Derek silently watched him go. It wasn’t that he hadn’t helped Stiles before in the aftermath of an uncomfortable experience like a bad dream or a panic attack. Stiles had even done the same for him from time to time. In over three years together, they’d cried, yelled, argued at and with each other on countless occasions. There had been a lot to understand and work through regarding their past traumas. It just wasn’t common for Stiles to clam up; he was always the one who insisted on talking, getting everything out in the open.

He gave it five minutes before sliding quietly out of the bed and heading downstairs. Stiles was in his home office, the door left slightly ajar, so he continued on to the kitchen and grabbed the kettle to fill. After setting the water to boil, he found a clean mug and dropped a tea bag inside. He soon had a steaming cup held in two hands and was nudging the door of the office open with his hip.

Stiles glanced up from his laptop, expression carefully composed.

“I don’t think I’m coming back bed,” he said. “Thought I’d get some work done.”

“I know,” Derek replied, setting the mug down on the desk where it would be out of reach of potential flailing elbows. “It’s not decaf.” He pressed a firm kiss to Stiles’ forehead and went to exit the room. “I’ll be upstairs.”

Back in their bed, Derek rested on his side with a sigh and closed his eyes while keeping an ear out for any trouble in the house. He could handle losing a few hours of sleep. What he didn’t want to do was step on Stiles’ toes with his concern. His first instinct in the face of his mate’s discomfort was decidedly _not_ to leave him alone and to go back to bed, but he knew well that his first loyalty to Stiles was as a boyfriend, and Stiles the human did not appreciate being smothered.

He didn’t have to wait too long. At around five, Stiles crawled onto the bed and pressed his chest to Derek’s back, arms snaking around to hold him. Derek entwined their fingers and waited.

“I dreamed I was possessed,” Stiles eventually said.

Derek stayed quiet, letting himself be held.

“I was possessed,” Stiles repeated, after another long moment. “By a… a demon, or something. It had me. I couldn’t do anything.” He pressed his face into the back of Derek’s neck. “None of you had any idea. I was completely trapped, I couldn’t warn you.”

“Stiles…”

“I watched myself hurt you. I killed Allison, and then I turned to you and I-”

He broke off with a pained sound, and Derek turned in his grip to lie facing him. Stiles’ had his mouth pressed tightly closed, his eyes haunted. Slowly, Derek brought a hand up to stroke Stiles’ arm and rest comfortingly on the side of his neck.

“It wasn’t real,” he murmured. “I’m right here.”

“It felt so real,” Stiles whispered.

“You woke up.”

“I felt your blood on my hands. Derek-” Stiles shut his eyes, squeezing them against whatever images were flashing through his mind. “We have no idea what else could be out there. What if something like that happens? What if everything we already survived is just the beginning?” His eyes flew open, wide and desperate. “I love you so much. I wouldn’t survive it if I hurt you.”

Derek stroked his thumb across Stiles’ cheek in a steadying motion. “You can’t think like that,” he said softly. “We can’t ever know everything about the future and what we might face.”

“How do you stand it?”

“I have you. And I have the pack.” Stiles let out a trembling breath as his heart rate leveled out just a little as he listened. “We’ve seen and survived a lot already, and, yeah, there might be more down the line, but what I do know is that things have finally been peaceful for the past few years. We’ve been safe. We _are_ safe.”

Stiles shook his head minutely. “I can’t stop waiting for the other shoe to drop,” he confessed. “Finishing school, being with you, moving in to this house… It’s like I’m in a dream. Sometimes it doesn’t feel real.”

Heart twisting, Derek tugged Stiles closer to wrap him completely within the safety of his own arms.

“I have you,” he said, voice low and fierce. “I’ll always have you, and I _promise_ this is real.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. Never doubt it.”

They stayed tangled together for a long time that morning, reluctant to be apart for even a second as the world woke up around them and a new day unfolded. Derek kept his thoughts carefully focused on the precious being tucked under his chin, in the bed they’d chosen together, in the house they would soon both own. He let gratitude wash over him freely, doing his best to transfer as much love and comfort as he could, listening attentively as Stiles’ heart was soothed to a calmer rhythm.

“I love you,” Derek said, unwilling to break the quiet peace but unable to go another second without telling Stiles yet again. “I always will.”

In response, Stiles sighed deeply, releasing the last vestiges of tension from his body. He let his mind finally settle, allowing the nightmare to fade away.

**Author's Note:**

> brains can be funny. sometimes a hug helps


End file.
